ArticleDeutsches Arzteblatt international2020
Leg Length Discrepancy- Treatment Indications and Strategies.
Article in Deutsches Arzteblatt international, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 64 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
64 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 104 citations in OpenAlex.
- Aesthetic lower limb lengthening techniques: a systematic review of efficacy, complications, and patient satisfaction.Journal of orthopaedic surgery and research · 2025Pooled it
- Pooled it
- The efficacy of 3D personalized insoles in moderate adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a randomized controlled trial.BMC musculoskeletal disorders · 2022Trial
- Evaluating ChatGPT's Role in Patient Education on Distraction Osteogenesis for Limb Lengthening.Cureus · 2026Article
- Managing Complications of Total Hip Arthroplasty for Avascular Necrosis Hip Performed Via Anterior Approach.Journal of orthopaedic case reports · 2026Article
- Open Distal Femoral Physeal Fracture in a 6-Year-Old Child Complicated by Growth Arrest and Limb-Length Discrepancy: A Case Report.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Pediatric Extremity Vascular Malformations: Diagnosis, Referral, and Limb Management from a Pediatric Orthopedic Perspective.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Physeal sparing technique reduces femoral growth disturbance in pediatric anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction patients.Knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy : official journal of the ESSKA · 2026Article
- Secondary deformity following paediatric tibial lengthening with circular fixators.International orthopaedics · 2026Article
- Predicting Leg Length Change After Valgus-Correcting Lateral Opening-Wedge Versus Medial Closing-Wedge Distal Femoral Osteotomy.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Global High-Cited Pediatric Fracture Research: Bibliometric Assessment of Scopus Publications (1929-2024).Indian journal of orthopaedics · 2026Review
- Persistent Patellar Dislocation Following Correction of a Lower Limb Length Discrepancy: A Case Report.Cureus · 2025Article
- [Treatment of bony defects in femur and tibia : Established and new concepts].Unfallchirurgie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2025Article
- Are artificial intelligence generated lower extremity radiographic measurements accurate in a cohort with implants?Skeletal radiology · 2025Article
- High-Accuracy reduction of comminuted diaphyseal femur fractures using on-site 3-D-printed guides.European journal of trauma and emergency surgery : official publication of the European Trauma Society · 2025Article
- Prior leg length discrepancy in total hip arthroplasty patients causes greater implant complications and faster time to revision.World journal of orthopedics · 2025Article
- [Leg length discrepancy following total hip arthroplasty : How often and when is it problematic?]Orthopadie (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2025Review
- Development and clinical application of extendable prostheses in limb salvage surgery for primary malignant bone tumours in children : a systematic review of functional outcomes and complications.Bone & joint research · 2025Article
- Iliotibial Band Behavior Assessed Through Tensor Fasciae Latae Electromyographic Activity with Different Foot Orthoses in Recreational Runners According to Foot Type: A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of functional morphology and kinesiology · 2025Article
- Hidden Asymmetries: Leg Length Discrepancy and Breast Asymmetry in Adolescent Scoliosis and Postural Disorders-A Cross-Sectional Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
4 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMany people have leg-length discrepancies of greater or lesser severity. No evidence-based studies on the need for treatment are currently available.
methodsThis review is based on publications retrieved by a selective search in the PubMed database, as well as on published recommendations from Germany and abroad and on the authors' own clinical experience.
resultsIf the two legs are of different lengths, this is generally because one leg is too short. It is debated whether leg-length discrepancy causes pain or long-term musculoskeletal disturbances. A direct connection to back pain is questionable, but a mildly elevated incidence of knee arthritis seems likely. The evidence base on the indications for treatment of leg-length discrepancy is poor; only informal consensus recommendations are available. There are a wide variety of conservative and surgical treatment options. The final extent of a leg-length discrepancy first noted during the growing years can be estimated with predictive algorithms to within 2 cm. The treatments that can be considered include a shoe insert, a high shoe, or an orthosis, surgically induced slowing of growth by blockade of the epiphyseal plates around the knee joint, or leg lengthening with osteotomy and subsequent distraction of the bone callus with fully implanted or external apparatus. Changes in leg length exert marked mechanical stress on the soft tissues. If the predicted leg-length discrepancy exceeds 5 cm, initial leg-lengthening treatment can already be considered during the patient's growing years.
conclusionIt must be discussed with each patient individually whether the treatment should be conservative or surgical. The extent of the discrepancy is not the sole determining factor for the mode of treatment. The decision to treat is always elective.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.